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Electrical investigation prior to offer?

thenewbee
thenewbee Posts: 143 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
We agreed with the vendor of a house we're interested in that our electrician friend would be able to pop around this week to have a quick look at the electrics and see if they need work. It's an old house and by their own admission the vendors know nothing about the electrics. They haven't been touched for at least 30 years.

This was agree in person on Saturday but now the vendor is backtracking -- i suspect after speaking with the EA.

Is this kind of thing often done before offers are made, or should we make an offer subject to survey and electrical investigation?

Comments

  • paulsad
    paulsad Posts: 1,315 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Were it my property if you haven't made an offer then I don't think I'd be too happy you getting in friends to check out the house, usually in my experience its done further down the line so you can then try to haggle the price down a bit if there are problems.
  • cycloneuk
    cycloneuk Posts: 363 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    If they haven't been touched for 30 years then you will need to budget for a full rewire and decoration.
  • thenewbee
    thenewbee Posts: 143 Forumite
    cycloneuk wrote: »
    If they haven't been touched for 30 years then you will need to budget for a full rewire and decoration.

    The vendor would not accept an offer low enough to account for this which is why we wanted a qualified electrician to take a look - so we can avoid wasting everyone's time.
  • thenewbee
    thenewbee Posts: 143 Forumite
    paulsad wrote: »
    Were it my property if you haven't made an offer then I don't think I'd be too happy you getting in friends to check out the house, usually in my experience its done further down the line so you can then try to haggle the price down a bit if there are problems.

    Thanks - we thought as much but they were perfectly fine and willing to allow it at the weekend. Strange.
  • ValHaller
    ValHaller Posts: 5,212 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    thenewbee wrote: »
    Thanks - we thought as much but they were perfectly fine and willing to allow it at the weekend. Strange.
    Well offer as though the result was the worst outcome.
    You might as well ask the Wizard of Oz to give you a big number as pay a Credit Referencing Agency for a so-called 'credit-score'
  • robatwork
    robatwork Posts: 7,305 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    thenewbee wrote: »
    The vendor would not accept an offer low enough to account for this which is why we wanted a qualified electrician to take a look - so we can avoid wasting everyone's time.

    Offer what they would accept then.

    After the evaluation then you can decrease it in line.

    However if I was selling I wouldn't take the say so of an electician friend. I would want to see a full EICR report. I had one of these done as a buyer and got several thousand knocked off the price due to the parlous state of the electrics.
  • thenewbee
    thenewbee Posts: 143 Forumite
    robatwork wrote: »
    Offer what they would accept then.

    After the evaluation then you can decrease it in line.

    However if I was selling I wouldn't take the say so of an electician friend. I would want to see a full EICR report. I had one of these done as a buyer and got several thousand knocked off the price due to the parlous state of the electrics.

    Great advice thank you.
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